The pro tour returns to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's largest commercial city. From August 6 to 9, 2026, the PPA Tour Asia holds the "MB Ho Chi Minh City Open" in Global City, a mixed-use development district in the city. Taking the title is the military-affiliated major MB Bank (Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank), and for the bank, this partnership with PPA Asia marks four consecutive tournaments. Registration has opened for both pro and amateur divisions. The structure of a financial institution wholesale supporting the sport's event infrastructure is not someone else's business for Japanese players wrestling with court shortages and the hunt for sponsors.
PPA returns to Ho Chi Minh City, title again to a military-affiliated bank
The event's official name is "MB Ho Chi Minh City Open," rated PPA Asia 500. The venue, Global City, is a sports complex with an international-standard outdoor court seating over 300 spectators and a climate-controlled arena. The "MB Vietnam Open" was held at the same venue in September 2025, and Ho Chi Minh City is becoming an established PPA Asia host. This return makes that entrenchment a notch clearer.
The pro division vies for ranking points; the amateur division for medals. Several age-group categories are also prepared, designed so that everyday players with little competitive experience can play within the same event. Housing pro-tour promotion and amateur participatory events in one vessel is a mold PPA Asia has repeatedly adopted in Vietnam.
What "four consecutive tournaments" means
Worth noting is that MB Bank didn't suddenly become a sponsor with this event. The bank has kept its name up as title sponsor for PPA Asia's major tournaments—the 2025 "MB Vietnam Open" (Ho Chi Minh City) and "MB Vietnam Cup" (Da Nang), and the "MB Hanoi Cup" held in Hanoi in April 2026. This Ho Chi Minh City event is its fourth consecutive backing. It's a stance of continuously putting money into the tour itself, not one-off event sponsorship.
MB Bank is a commercial bank established in 1994 under Vietnam's Ministry of National Defense, and starting from financing for defense-sector enterprises, it has grown into a comprehensive financial group now spanning securities, insurance, and consumer finance. Telecom major Viettel is listed among its strategic shareholders. A financial institution of that scale is repeatedly attaching itself as title sponsor to an emerging sport where the governing body and event organizers are still thin on resources. Vietnam-specific circumstances show through here.
Reading the tournament ratings and scale side by side
Lining up the ratings of each tournament MB Bank has supported reveals the tour's center of gravity. The figures are limited to those confirmable via PPA Asia and local reporting.
| Tournaments | Location | Rating ・ scale |
|---|---|---|
| MB Vietnam Open 2025 | Ho Chi Minh City | — |
| MB Vietnam Cup 2025 | Da Nang | Total prize money US$150,000 / about 600 participants |
| MB Hanoi Cup 2026 | Hanoi | PPA Asia 1000 / prize money up to US$300,000 |
| MB Ho Chi Minh City Open 2026 | Ho Chi Minh City | PPA Asia 500 |
Hanoi's Hanoi Cup is positioned as the top-rated 1000-point tournament, and this Ho Chi Minh City event as a 500-point tournament. Running the largest-class marquee tournament in the capital and mid-size tournaments in commercial cities. The title is consistently MB Bank. It's clear that a single financial institution is framing the tour's skeleton across multiple domestic cities.
How it's received locally and in the industry
In taking on this re-sponsorship, MB Bank's marketing head positioned it as a long-term effort to bring world-class sports experiences closer to Vietnamese spectators, layering in the bank's philosophy that prosperity extends not only to monetary success but to the experience of quality of life. The stance of a financial brand trying to work its way into life and culture through sport comes through.
The tour operator, by stacking tournaments at the same venue, pushes Ho Chi Minh City as an established Asian host. From the local player crowd comes the view that the tournament format housing pro matches and amateur entry slots together is broadening the base of the player population. Watch a pro up close, and the next day you can stand on the court yourself. This closeness is seen as fueling the momentum of the emerging sport.
Implications for players and stakeholders in Japan
Turn Vietnam's picture over, and Japan's current challenges come into sharp relief. In Japan, tournaments are at the stage where streaming companies and makers are beginning to attach titles, and examples of financial institutions continuously supporting a whole tour are still scarce. In Tokyo,the world's top tour opened in Tachikawa, andstreaming companies fielding pros stepped into tournaments—such sprouts of promotion have appeared, but they haven't yet reached a structure like Vietnam's, where "one large capital runs multiple cities' tournaments over the year."
There are two practical benefits for Japanese players. One is that the August Ho Chi Minh City event opens up its amateur division and age-group categories. For citizen players who want to gain real match experience at an official PPA event in the Asian region, it becomes a realistic option to travel to and enter. The other is the implication for those wanting to launch a tournament domestically. A design that seats a locally rooted large capital as a long-term title, rather than the governing body alone, can be a shortcut to stabilizing the business. Vietnam is proving that with a financial institution.
Ripple effects on the market, and Japan's sense of distance
Behind MB Bank repeatedly taking the title is pickleball's rapid expansion in Vietnam. Nearly 800 players registered for the Hanoi Cup in the capital, and about 600 gathered for the Vietnam Cup in Da Nang. The growth of the player base creates spectators and sponsor value, and that value draws in financial institutions. This cycle has begun turning simultaneously across multiple domestic cities. Japanese players, too,have begun challenging on the PPA Asia stage, and have entered a phase of facing the world's wall at Asia's upper tournaments like the Beijing event. The event catch basin Vietnam has built is also starting to function as a place for Japanese players to rack up match counts overseas.
Practical info for those considering entering
The Ho Chi Minh City event's venue, Global City, sits in a mixed-use development district in the city, with an international-standard outdoor court and an arena. Registration is accepted for both pro and amateur divisions and multiple age-group categories. If you're considering entering an overseas event, confirm the division and age-bracket requirements on the official registration page early, along with arranging travel and lodging. Those who want to get a feel for the PPA Asia atmosphere domestically can follow reporting on recent events held in Tokyo and Beijing to get a sense of the on-the-day operations and competitive level.
Summary
The PPA's return to Ho Chi Minh City is not a mere added tournament. With military-affiliated major MB Bank taking the title for four consecutive tournaments, the Vietnamese-style structure of a financial institution continuously carrying the sport's event infrastructure has grown clearer. For Japanese players, it means one more real place to take on official tournaments in the Asian region. First confirm the August event's division and category requirements on the official page, and determine whether traveling to enter is realistic. And if you're in a position to be involved in running tournaments domestically, it's worth drawing Vietnam's design of seating regional capital as a long-term title into your own event and thinking it through.
